For Autistic Pride Day 2026 (Thursday 18th June), our Asking You team’s Project Worker Cheryl discusses what Autistic Pride means to her.
Autistic pride is something I have always known.
Autistic pride means different things to different people, but for me it’s something that has always been part of my life.
My brother was diagnosed as Autistic when he was 3 years old. Growing up, I knew he wasn’t like me in many ways, but he was still my brother. Autism wasn’t something I saw as a flaw or something to be fixed. It was simply part of who he was and still is.
Because of his support needs, my brother moved into residential care when he was still a child. He doesn’t communicate using speech, but I always understand him through his facial expressions or his body language. We have this bond. Autism never changed how much I loved him and how proud I am of him. Looking back, my brother probably taught me more about acceptance than anyone could of.
Receiving a diagnosis
Fast forward a few decades and at the age of 32, I received my own Autism diagnosis. My reaction wasn’t one of dramatics, there was no life changing moments, it was more of “Oh well that explains a lot”.
Suddenly years of my experiences started to make sense. The routines, the sensory issues, the way I would happily spend hours researching one topic and forgetting to do other things. My diagnosis didn’t change who I was. It simply gave me a manual that had been apparently missing for 32 years of my life.
One thing I did learn was the language around autism, Identity first language, person first language and community discussions, there was a lot to take in. Like many autistic people I spent time listening, learning and figuring out what felt right for me.
What never changed was how I felt about autism. I was never ashamed of my brother or myself. In fact, some of my proudest moments have come from embracing my autistic identity.
Storytelling
I have written workshops, shared my love of words and storytelling to others. I have stood up in front of audiences and performed spoken word poetry about my experiences as an autistic person. One of my proudest moments was performing at Autsticon in Leeds, not once but twice.
Now if you had told my younger self that one day I would be standing on a stage talking about autism, I would probably laugh with the nervousness I had around public speaking. Then I would have over thought about it for 6 months, written three different versions of my speech and worried about it right up until I was on stage.
Autistic Pride isn’t about pretending autism doesn’t come with challenges. It is not about ignoring the support needs that many autistic people have. For me, it’s about recognising that autistic people have many values despite what some people might think about us.
My brother and I have very different experiences of autism. His support needs are much higher than mine and our lives look very different. Yet autism connects us in a way I didn’t fully understand until I received my own diagnosis.
Celebration
This is Autistic Pride; I am celebrating both of us. I am celebrating my brother, who showed me from a young age that different isn’t wrong. I am celebrating every autistic person who has ever been told “You need to change in order to belong”. You don’t need to change who you are for anyone, because autistic pride isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about realising that who you are is worth celebrating.
If there is one thing I have learned it is that autism isn’t something to overcome, its simply part of my story.
It is the reason I can disappear down a research rabbit hole and emerge three hours later knowing everything about a topic no one asked me for. It is why I can be incredibly passionate about the things I care about. It is why I notice the details others can miss.
Community
Autism has brought challenges, absolutely. But it has also brought community, understanding, creativity and opportunities I never expected. It has led to meeting some incredible people and learning more about myself.
Autistic pride isn’t about being perfect. It is not about having all the answers. It is about recognising our strengths, accepting our challenges and being unapologetically ourselves.
If being autistic means I need noise cancelling headphones, a detailed plan, a backup plan for the back up plan and a recovery nap after, so be it. After all being autistic is just one part of who I am. Autistic pride isn’t about changing who we are in order to fit into this world, it is knowing that we already belong in it. This is what autistic pride means to me.
